Turn Back Time
by Alyx Carlton
Summary: The war is over and the outcome is not what Hermione expected. With all of her loved ones dead she is thrust back in time to change the outcome by a faulty timeturner which takes her back farther than intended, where she meets a certain potions professor
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first fanfiction that I have written in a long time. I've had this idea in my head for about two years and am just not getting the time to bring it to life. I am nervous to see how everyone likes it. So please read and review and tell me what you think. If you don't like it let me know! I hope that you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. (Although it would be really cool if I did) I am just someone who had a fun idea and wanted to write on that.

Chapter One

Time was crawling by so slowly for Hermione Granger since the Battle of Hogwarts ended. It had only been three and a half weeks, but to her the days and nights melded into a seemingly never ending nightmare. The memories of the tragic occurrences that had transpired that day and everyday since played over and over in her head like a broken record player. She truly felt like she was in hell, and that this was her punishment for what she had done. It was her fault, her mistake and her burden. She did not beg for mercy when she was being tortured, for she felt as if she deserved it.

One fact remained: the death of Harry Potter had tipped the scale in favor for the Death Eaters and made it possible for them to win the battle. In no time, all who had opposed the Dark Lord were captured and imprisoned in the most dark and dank corner of the dungeons in the once glorious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hermione had a cell to herself by the request of the Dark Lord, as a "reward" for her help in bringing about the death of his mortal enemy Harry Potter. She was to receive her "compensation" every evening at the same time, which quickly became the time of day she feared the most.

A robed and hooded Death Eater would enter her cell and throw a stunning spell at her. He would then proceed to hang her by her wrists in chains on the wall. When he was sure that she was fully restrained, he would cast a curse on her that made her eyes glue open so that she had no choice but to watch what they were about to do. After he was finished with Hermione, he would exit the room and return with two other Death Eaters who were dragging one of the witches or wizards that had fought against the Dark Lord. Once inside the dungeon, they would cast a spell to illuminate the entire room and chain the condemned up on the wall directly across from Hermione. She was then forced to watch for hours while the Death Eaters tortured and then finally killed the witch or wizard.

If the Dark Lord had any mercy he would have let the Death Eaters take the body and leave Hermione to her anguish. However the Dark Lord is not known for his generosity but his ability to be cruel. So as soon as the light had gone out of the witch's or wizard's eyes leaving them dead, the Death Eaters would turn towards Hermione and advance on her. Sometimes they would use muggle versions of torture with a magical twist, but most of the time it was just brutal magical torture. Either way Hermione Granger would have a painful hour or two of torture sessions in store.

Those three and a half weeks of daily torture had left Hermione unrecognizable. Her hair was matted with dried blood and dirt, her face was so bruised and swollen that you could hardly tell that she was female much less a human. Her cloths were mere tatters now only barely covering her privates, but even what shreds were left had large holes here and there in the dirty fabric. The rest of her body was covered in deep gashes most of which had magical curses on them that put her in complete and total agony the minute she was to get comfortable. She hadn't slept longer than a minute at a time since before the battle because of this.

The last three and a half weeks had left Hermione without hope that things would get better. Now all she wished for was the end of everything. In her eyes she deserved to die and it could not come quick enough. She was tired of living with the guilt of being the reason that everyone that she had ever known, loved, or cared about was dead. She knew she deserved the torture which was why she never begged for mercy; but the guilt… that was just too much.

Hermione had lost the will to live, and the Death Eaters were quickly becoming bored with her. She spent her days staring into space, not eating or even uttering a sound. When they brought one of her friends to be tortured and killed she stopped screaming for their release. She didn't even utter a sound when they began torturing her, as if she couldn't feel it anymore… as if she were broken.

Once his loyal Death Eaters reported this to the Dark Lord he made the decision that after her last ally was killed she would follow him or her. This left Hermione with only a few days left to live. It was then that a rebellious and revenge seeking member of the Death Eaters sought out a way to change what she had never meant nor wanted to happen.

Narcissa Malfoy had once been a loyal Death Eater and would have done almost anything for her master. The events of the Battle of Hogwarts changed everything that she thought that she knew. At the last possible moment her son, Draco, had changed his loyalties and fought alongside The Order. The Dark Lord had seen this and made sure that he was captured with the rest of the traitors. He had been among the first to be tortured and then put to death. Although Narcissa acted the part of the loyal follower she was distraught and angry on the inside. She was biding her time until the day when she could avenge the death of her beloved son. This is why she formed her plan, a plan she could not accomplish with out Hermione Granger.

It was now or never, if she didn't act now she wouldn't get the chance to save her son again. If she didn't act now the Dark Lord was going to destroy everyone and everything. Tonight after they finished their daily torture session she would put her plan to action. There would be little to no guards because Hermione would be too weak to escape and all who would come to her rescue was either dead or imprisoned. She knew what she had to do, it was more than likely a suicide mission but, damn it, she was going to die trying.

Narcissa waited in the shadows near Hermione's dungeon door, waiting for them to finish torturing her. Finally after a few hours Hermione's tormentors exited her cell and walked away. Narcissa waited an hour longer for most of the death eaters to leave.

Once the coast was clear Narcissa silently approached the door took out her wand and tapped the door right above the handle unlocking it. As soon as the door opened wide enough she stepped inside and muttered, "Lumos" illuminating the tip of her wand. When the light reached Hermione, Narcissa let out an involuntary gasp. She was unrecognizable, Narcissa wasn't even sure that this pathetic broken human even was Hermione. She took a few tentative steps closer to her thinking that if she got close enough she might find something recognizable about his person, but she was unsuccessful.

While Narcissa was debating on whether or not this was Hermione or not, Hermione hadn't moved. She had indeed heard Narcissa's entrance but she didn't acknowledge that she was aware. She just laid there in pain bleeding on the cold stone floor with her eyes closed so that she didn't have to look at the sightless eyes of Neville Longbottom whom had been the latest victim of torture then death. She was hoping that whoever had entered her cell was there to put an end to her misery and finally kill her. She was ready; she didn't care how badly it hurt because she was already in so much pain as it was. She just wanted it all to end because she failed everyone.

"Hermione, is that you?" Narcissa asked. Hermione's eyes shot open at the shock of someone addressing her by her name, which the Death Eaters normally didn't do, but that was the only response she gave.

At the sight of those unmistakable chocolate brown eyes Narcissa knew that this had to be her. In an instant she was by Hermione's side uncorking a vial of potion and putting it to Hermione's lips. "Drink this; it'll give you enough strength to walk." Without thinking Hermione opened her mouth and let the warm liquid slide down her throat, coughing a few times as the potion started to take effect. Narcissa helped pull Hermione up into a sitting position.

"Do you think you have the strength to walk yet? I'm going to help support some of your weight, but I am just not strong enough to carry you." Narcissa said looking intently at Hermione. "We've got a long ways to walk and we haven't got much time, we must leave quickly."

At this point the strengthening potion had fully kicked in and the fog around Hermione's mind that had been there since the final battle lessened somewhat to the point where she realized that Narcissa wasn't there to kill her. "Where are you taking me?" Hermione wheezed from not having said anything in a long time.

"There is no time to explain, at least not until we get there." Narcissa said desperately trying to get Hermione to realize that they must leave now or this would all be a wasted effort. "Now, do you think you can walk yet or not?"

Hermione nodded and Narcissa sighed in relief. She walked around to Hermione's right side and rapped her hard on the head casting a disillusionment charm just incase someone happened upon them. She picked up Hermione's right arm and put it around her left shoulder and held onto it with her right hand heaving Hermione to her feet. Just the act of standing up caused Hermione so much pain that she cried out. They took a few slow steps toward the door making Hermione let out a few moans of pain. If Hermione kept doing that the whole way they were sure to be heard and that would put an end to everything.

"Hermione, I hate to do this but you're just being too loud." And without even waiting for permission she cast a silencing spell over Hermione and immediately her moans of pain ceased.

They took a few more slow steps until they reached the dungeon door but quickly sped up until they reached a moderate pace. They continued this pace until they reached the first corner where they had to stop to peek around it and make sure that no one was coming. They continued on like this until they made it out of the dungeons and into the Entrance Hall. Hermione assumed that they were going to go out the front doors and make a break for it so she was surprised when Narcissa turned her away from the big front doors and to the stairs that lead to most of the classrooms. They continued their assent, Narcissa having to do most of the work to help Hermione up the stairs, not running into any problems until they reached the changing staircases. Narcissa stopped to look up and see if the coast was clear and was horrified to see that her sister Bellatrix was descending them and would reach her any minute.

"Hermione, I have to put you down over there by the wall." Narcissa hurriedly whispered looking up again to see that Bellatrix was even closer. "No matter what you hear you must not move a muscle or else she'll kill us both." She swiftly carried Hermione over to the wall thankful that she had cast the silencing spell because this surely had to be hurting her. Narcissa eased Hermione down making sure that she could not be seen. She then stood up backtracked a few steps then walked towards the first set of stairs just as Bellatrix got to the top of said stairs.

"Narcissa, what are you doing here? I thought that you were at your home with that pathetic excuse of a husband who keeps disappointing our Lord." said Bellatrix evilly looking down on her sister.

"If you must know Bella," Narcissa said as if she were bored, "Lucius and I are arguing, I think that he could do more to please the Dark Lord and he thinks that I should be sadder over the loss of our traitor son." Narcissa said her voice not betraying the pain it caused to talk about Draco that way.

Upon hearing this Bellatrix softened her demeanor towards her sister, "Well if you were to need any assistance getting rid of him you let me know. People tell me that I am good at those sorts of things. Just ask that stupid Longbottom brat and his parents." At those words Hermione had to grind her teeth together to stop from using her last bit of strength to attempt to choke the life out of Bellatrix. It was only Narcissa's warning that kept her rooted on the floor against the wall.

"Yes, that was rather entertaining wasn't it?" Narcissa chuckled. "Unfortunately the Dark Lord doesn't want him dead or else I would have done the deed myself." She said winching inside; she hated talking that way about her husband because in reality she loved him and respected him.

"Cissy, I am afraid that I can no longer stay and chat because the Dark Lord has an important request for me and I am keeping him waiting." Bellatrix told her sister with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. She was the most loyal servant of the Dark Lord and she enjoyed any task he gave her even if it caused her pain. She was the epitome of brain washed and she loved every minute of it. "You should reconsider my offer, Cissy, I can even ask the Dark Lord for his permission if you'd like."

At those words Narcissa freaked out a little inside but luckily she kept her composer long enough to respond. "Let me sleep on it Bella, I've got so much on my mind as it is. I think I have found out how to get into the Headmaster's office so I am going to go check my theory. If I am lucky I'll have good news to report back to the Dark Lord with." Narcissa said referring to the task that the Dark Lord had set aside for Narcissa.

The Dark Lord would have been fully capable of doing it himself, but he was a monster of a man who enjoyed watching those around him suffer and struggle. Narcissa had actually figured out how to get in there about a week ago. That office had helped her come up with the plan that she had already put into motion.

"Alright Cissy, I'll let the Dark Lord know you may have had a break through, then." Bella smiled deviously then walked past Narcissa and out of sight.

Once she was sure that Bellatrix was gone and the coast was once again clear Narcissa rushed over to where Hermione was. "Shit! That's exactly the thing that I didn't want to happen." She told Hermione as she helped her back up. She knew that Bellatrix suspected something and that she was off to tell the Dark Lord in an attempt to gain more recognition with him. "We can't walk slow anymore, Hermione I'm sorry. We just don't have much more time left; he'll surely be on his way up here soon."

With that Narcissa put a disillusionment spell on herself because they couldn't afford anymore distractions. They practically ran up the remaining stairs trying to get there as fast as they possible could. They were both running out of steam when they finally made it to the turn that would lead to the corridor where the Headmaster's office was. They rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt. About five feet in front of them was a lone Death Eater walking straight toward them.

He stopped dead in his tracks because he had seen a shimmer and knew that someone was there. Narcissa didn't wait a second longer, she withdrew her wand and shot the strongest stunner at him that she could think of. It hit him before he even knew what had happened. Narcissa had started pulling Hermione along again before the Death Eaters unconscious body had hit the ground.

Within a minute they had reached the stone gargoyles and she muttered, "Last hope." the statues jumping aside allowing them access to the spiral staircase. They each stepped onto the first step and as the stairs began to move, the wall behind them closed making the corridor beyond disappear from their view. As soon as the spiral stairs reached the top and ceased to move Narcissa was pulling Hermione through the office door. She carried her to the desk and leaned her on the corner of it telling her that there was no time to sit. When she was sure that Hermione was secure and wouldn't slip off she promptly turned around closed and warded the door.

"Hermione I have less time to explain than I thought so I am just going to get straight to the point." Narcissa explained as she took off the disillusionment charms off of her and Hermione as well as taking off the silencing spell over her. "You're going to go back in time, a week before the Battle and you are going to find yourself and fix this. It was your mistake and you're the only one who can fix it. I would do it myself but your past self would probably attack me before I would get the chance to speak. Plus you would just think that I was luring you into a trap." Narcissa said as she hurriedly walked around the desk pulled open a drawer and shuffled through everything until she found the time turner. She walked back around the desk until she was in front of Hermione and slipped the time turner around her bruised neck. "I've already got it programmed so all you will have to do is spin it once and it'll take you there. Here you'll need this too." She said handing Hermione her wand.

"Why are you helping me do this?" Hermione asked feebly.

"I am NOT helping YOU." Narcissa snarled. "I am doing this for my son, who would still be alive if you had not interfered. I would do ANYTHING for him, and if you can go back and correct your mistake I'll have my son back." Narcissa finished lividly a lone tear running down her cheek. "I have no loyalties to you and I honestly don't care whether you live or die but I do know that with the Dark Lord alive my son is dead and I can't have that. Now you should go before-"

Narcissa didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because at that moment the door exploded off its hinges scattering huge chunks of wood flying in every direction. Narcissa and Hermione let out startled cries and ducked as best as they could to avoid the dangerous debris.

"GO NOW HERMIONE!" Narcissa yelled as Lord Voldemort glided into the room.

"Avada Kedavra!" He hissed as a green light came out of his wand and struck Narcissa Malfoy in the chest. She fell to the ground her wide empty eyes proof that she was no more.

Voldemort then turned to Hermione his cat like eyes drawn to the time turner. "I see that Bellatrix was indeed correct that Narcissa was up to something. I just didn't know it would be anything like this." He said to himself with something that sounded like amusement in his voice. His ugly lips turned upward in an evil, sadistic way speaking to Hermione now. "You're attempts to defeat me are futile, Mudblood. Lord Voldemort is and always will be victorious, and I have you to thank for that." His wicked, evil grin got even wider as he said this. "Although it's a pity, I really thought that Narcissa was loyal." he said with no trace of sadness what so ever. "Oh well, there is no point in crying over spilt milk." He shrugged. "Now to dispose of you, Mudblood, you were a great source of entertainment I must say."

Hermione didn't have any time to react before his wand was trained on her and he muttered, "Avada Kedavra." The last thing she saw was a green light streaking toward her. The spell hit not only her chest but the time turner. She heard it break and felt pieces of glass and sand embed themselves into her chest as well as the spell itself. The last thing she felt was a familiar tug in her stomach along with a burning, searing pain that spread all over her skin, her scalp and her eyes making her feel as if she was on fire. Then as suddenly as the pain, which was worse than any pain she had ever felt, started it went away. Hermione had time to wonder if this is what if felt like to be dead before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am really glad that you liked it. It so made my day. Thats the kind of thing that I need to help me finish this story. lol I'm excited about it all. The next few chapters wont be as heart stopping as that first one was. It's gonna slow down for a little while. But I hope that you all like it just the same. If you have any questions please review and I will try my best to let you know without giving anything away. :) I would also like to say thank you to everyone who added me to thier favorites or alert list, I am thrilled.**

**I would like to say a very special thank you to my beta deathtechie, you put my mind at ease when it comes to my grammar mistakes! :) Thank you so much it is an honor to have you as my Beta! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! That goes to the amazing J.K.R.! **

**Chapter Two:**

Punches were flying left and right in a two-against-one brawl, between James Potter, Sirius Black, and Severus Snape. A crowd had formed around them of mostly Gryffindors, whom were vigoursly cheering on their fellow housemates, in the dungeons outside of the potions class room. It had started as all of their altercations usually do; James and Sirius had shoved Severus, telling him to get his abnormally large nose out of their way. Severus wasn't really in the mood to deal with their childish antics, so he just told them to "Sod off." Obviously this wasn't the right thing to say to get them to go away because the next thing that Severus knew Sirius' fist comes out of nowhere and hits him square in the jaw.

Although he was being double teamed, Severus was putting up a pretty good fight. He had managed to give both boys a black eye, a busted lip, and a bloody nose. Even though he was giving it his all, two against one is never a fair fight, and he was soon knocked off of his feet. James started kicking Severus over and over again in the stomach while Sirius reached into his robes to pull out his wand.

"Prongs, get out of the way! I'm going to show Snivellus a thing or two." Sirius sneered looking down his nose at the bruised and bloody mass that was Severus sprawled on the floor.

James gave Severus one last kick to the chest before he moved aside. As foot collided with flesh a loud and sickening crunch was heard as two or more of Severus' ribs gave way and cracked under the pressure, causing Severus to cry out in pain. The crowd around him cringed at the sound and a few sniggered at the fact that Severus was again being hurt and humiliated for their enjoyment.

"Alright, Padfoot, show him what you've got." James sneered ready to start laughing at whatever humiliating thing that Sirius had planned. Sirius had just only managed to raise his wand before he heard the stern voice of his head of house, Professor McGonagall, ring out over the crowd.

"What in the world is going on here?" She screeched causing the whole corridor to go quiet all at once. "What is the meaning of this?" When no one said anything she turned her head in Sirius' direction, her eyes traveling over his wand, which was still pointing at Severus. "Mr. Black, tell me what it is that you are doing with your wand pointed at Mr. Snape!" She spat as her eyes narrowed as she shot dangerous looks at all three of the boys.

"Well... Uh - I..." Sirius stuttered looking for a good excuse as he lowered his wand.

"Professor, Sniv... Uh I mean Snape started it it, he shoved me and Sirius here was only helping me after..." James' lie trailed off as Professor McGonagall's glare turned even sourer.

"All Three of you," She whispered threateningly pointing to James, Sirius, and Severus. "Follow me."

As Severus made to get up he cringed and fell back to the floor as his ribs shot a shock of pain through his body causing him to gasp. Professor McGonagall seeing this walked over to him and kneeled down beside him and said. "Mr. Snape, I am not as good a healer as Poppy is, but I've healed many a broken bone in my day so relax." She pointed her wand at Severus' chest and muttered, "Episkey."

Severus felt a painful snap that made him cry out as both of his ribs snapped back into place and mended leaving behind just a slight tingle as the pain ebbed away into oblivion.

"Tergeo." Professor McGonagall said with her wand still pointed at Severus. She moved her wand all around his face and he felt a warming sensation as all of the blood was removed from his skin. She turned and did the same thing to James and Sirius. When all the blood had been cleaned away Professor McGonagall briskly turned away and started marching up the stairs in the direction of the headmaster's office. "Come!" She barked at the three troublemakers without stopping, and they each hastened to catch up with her.

They walked in silence the whole way there, James and Sirius kept shooting worried glances toward one another but neither of them dared speak. Severus just kept his head bowed looking to the floor brooding over the fact that those two dunderheads were more than likely going to get out of punishment again, while he, being a Slytherin, was probably going to get a years worth of detentions.

Sooner than any of them wished it, they had arrived at the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office. "Sugar Quill." Professor McGonagall said marching them to the staircase that had appeared as the stone gargoyle had leapt aside and the wall behind it had opened up. Together they ascended the stairs until they came to a door, which Professor McGonagall quickly knocked on.

"Enter." Dumbledore called from beyond the door. Professor McGonagall led the unhappy trio into his office and he looked up at them all and smiled his all knowing smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked feigning ignorance.

"I found these three in the corridor fighting again!" Professor McGonagall said stressing the word 'again' "Potter and Black were double teaming Snape and broke two of his ribs and would have put some kind of jinx on him if I hadn't walked in on it." She turned her head and glared at all three boys then turned back to Dumbledore, "Albus, I have tried everything to get these three to stop going after one another, but nothing that I have done has worked. I am at my wits end, and I'm not sure what more I can do to punish them. I have given them countless detentions and docked so many points that neither of their houses will win the house cup for ten years!" She finished with a defeated look plastered on her face. Dumbledore looked her in the eyes to find them pleading with him to help her sort this mess out.

A few moments of silence passed as Albus silently considered all of his options. His penetrating eyes roamed over each of the three boys in turn causing them to feel uncomfortable with the feeling that he could read their very thoughts.

"Thank you, Minerva." He had spoken so suddenly that everyone else in the room aside from Professor McGonagall jumped. "You may leave now, I will handle this little situation." Professor McGonagall let out a relieved sigh as she made a swift about face and exited the office. "Now I would like to talk to Mr. Potter and Mr. Black separately, so Mr. Snape if you wouldn't mind stepping outside my office and waiting in the corridor, please." He finished with a polite smile. Without a word Severus stood up and walked into the corridor shutting the door and all sound from within could no longer be heard.

Severus sighed as he thought about what Dumbledore must be saying to the two boys he loathed more than any other. 'Probably telling them that they did a good job, secretly giving them points.' He thought. As the minutes slowly crept by Severus grew more and more angry, he couldn't get the idea out of his head that Dumbledore, like every head of house, favored Gryffindor. Severus had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore himself had been in Gryffindor so of course why wouldn't he let them get off lighter than he himself could ever wish to get off.

After what seemed like half an hour but was only about ten minutes, James and Sirius burst out of the headmaster's office. Neither of them looked pleased nor did they even glance at Severus as they stormed off along the corridor, down the spiral staircase and out of sight.

"Mr. Snape, you may once again enter." Dumbledore said not even raising his voice that much above a whisper, but it seemed to carry farther than it should have. Severus slowly walked back into the office. He was still livid from thinking that he was about to be treated unfairly but didn't let it show on his face. Although he was just a teenager Severus was no stranger to abuse and for that he rarely let his emotions show. In fact the mask Severus usually kept in place to hide his emotions was in place so much and so often that it had become second nature to him.

"Please, have a seat, my boy." Albus said motioning to one of the armchairs across from the desk. Severus walked over to the first chair he came to and sat down, it was the closest to the door and would allow him to exit the room in a hurry should the need arise. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Black have told me quite a story." Dumbledore began with that ever annoying twinkle in his eyes, and that all knowing smile plastered on his face. "I have heard their account of the events that occurred in the corridor outside of your potions class, but now I would like to hear your side of things."

It took Severus a moment to respond; at first he was shocked that he would even get to plead his case, usually they just jumped straight to the punishment. Then after the initial shock wore off he, not being able to trust, came to the conclusion that even if he told the truth, this Gryffindor-at-heart wouldn't believe that precious Potter and Black would start anything.

So Severus Snape, future potions professor, put the scowl on his face that would inevitably terrify many students for years to come, and began to tell the truth. Even though he knew that it would be the account over looked as the lie he still wanted to be truthful. "The bell rang for supper so I gathered all my things and began to head for the Great Hall. Next thing I knew, Potter shoved me and told me that my abnormally large nose was in his way and that I should turn my head away before I hurt someone. I told him to 'Sod off.' because I just didn't feel like messing with either of them. Which must have enraged Black because the next thing I know he punched me in the jaw." Severus spoke slowly and enunciated every syllable in his deep, dark voice that would eventually make students shiver in fear and battle the urge to run from his presence. Although he was discouraged that it had no affect what so ever on the headmaster.

Dumbledore studied Severus for a moment contemplating what to say next. "Interesting." he paused and gave Severus another penetrating stare before he nodded and spoke once again. "I believe you, Severus." It took Severus a moment for what he had just heard to sink in and in that moment his ever-present mask slipped off of his face to reveal his confusion. "Don't look so shocked, my dear boy, I have ways of knowing if someone is lying to me. While you were telling the truth your classmates were in fact telling me the complete opposite of your account. They said that you decked both of them in the nose before either of them could get a punch in." He chuckled. Severus scowled again, not sure what else to do because the man sitting before him was so odd. "Even though I know that you are telling the truth you still must be punished, getting into a fight no matter who started it is against school rules. Although seeing as you did not start it your punishment wont be a severe as Mr. Potter's and Mr. Black's. As I see it, I think that a fitting punishment-"

Before Professor Dumbledore could finish his sentence and give out his punishment something strange happened. A body appeared out of nowhere and was flung across the headmaster's desk causing everything on it to fall to the floor. The body was moving so fast that it flew off the desk, across the room and crashed into a mirror hanging on the wall. With a thud the body landed on the ground with glass shards raining down upon it.

With the sudden appearance of the body both Albus and Severus had jumped out of their seats, drawn their wands, and were pointing it towards the body right as it had finally hit the floor. Neither one of them spoke for a while, both had their ears straining to hear an enemy approach, but all they could hear was the clinking of glass shards as they cascaded on to the body.

Dumbledore moved so quickly that is shocked Severus and made him jump, almost throwing a curse at the old wizard. Albus pointed his wand at the door to his office and muttered, "Colloportus." locking it. He then turned back toward the body and moved forward to get a better look and Severus did the same.

The body was laying on its back, head to the side and its arms and legs were at awkward angles. Everything about this person's body was dirty, bloody, and bruised except for its hair. Its hair was a long straight, pure gold color that looked as if it had recently been washed and brushed. If the hair hadn't been thrown all over the place it would have looked like this person had attached a sheet of gold strands to its head. Severus looked down at its face to try to see if maybe he recognized him or her, but it was too bruised and bloody to even tell what gender it was. Upon further inspection of the body he saw that what little clothes this person had on were tattered and torn and were barely covering what he recognized as breasts. Who ever this girl was, she had been beaten and tortured to death. Severus was about to look away, because he didn't want to gaze upon this pitiful being anymore, but before he lowered his eyes he saw a slight movement in her chest. 'She just breathed' he thought, as his eyes grew wide.

"Professor, she's alive!" Severus whispered.

Albus quickly bent down and said, "Rennervate." When she did not wake up, he flicked his wand and conjured a stretcher in midair and magically lifted this strange girl onto it. He turned toward Severus and told him to follow them before turning toward the fire. He picked up some floo powder stepped into the fire place, threw the powder into the fire and aid, "The Infirmary." The flames flashed an emerald green and swept over Professor Dumbledore and the strange girl swallowing them.

Severus took a minute to contemplate just going back to his common room, but remembered that Dumbledore had asked him to follow, plus Dumbledore knew where he slept. So he walked to the fireplace grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the fire, stepped into the tickling green flames and said, "The Infirmary." He began spinning faster and faster until he stopped at his destination.

The scene before him was utterly chaotic; Madam Pomfrey was screaming orders to everyone in the room, which was only Professor Dumbledore, and now Severus. Still it was odd seeing the headmaster taking orders from this frail witch. As soon as Madam Pomfrey saw that Severus was there she barked an order for him to come over and help.

The three of them spent the better part of an hour getting her stabilized. Once they had achieved this she shooed Professor Dumbledore and Severus over to the other side of the infirmary. She pulled the curtain around her bed so that she could begin cleaning the girl's wounds.

Dumbledore and Severus each sat on an empty hospital bed facing each other. They were both silent for a long time, both trying to collect their thoughts. Finally after about fifteen minutes Dumbledore was able to speak. "Severus, there are a few things that I think we must discuss." Severus looked at the headmaster for a moment before nodding his head in agreement, he was more than a little curious. "First of all," he continued, "I need your word that you will tell no one, not even your friends, what you have seen tonight regarding this girl or what we discuss concerning her."

"Yes, sir." Severus eagerly said, "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Good, good." Dumbledore muttered, his thoughts running away.

"Um, sir, if you don't mind my asking, who is she?" Severus asked his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I've got a theory about all of this, and if I am right..." Dumbledore trailed off again as he thought harder and harder. "Severus, I think that we need to return to my office for this discussion." At Severus' nod of assent he stood and walked over to Madam Pomfrey to tell her to contact him as soon as she was done with the girl. He then walked back to the fireplace, Severus quickly followed and they each grabbed some floo powder and made the quick journey to the headmaster's office.

When Severus stepped out of the fire, Dumbledore was already seated at his desk; Severus stepped around him and sat in the chair that he had occupied when the strange girl had made her appearance. "Professor? May I ask what your theory is, the one you spoke of in the infirmary?" Severus asked tentatively, wanting to get all of the information of the headmaster as he possibly could.

Dumbledore took a moment or two to think over his answer before he said a word. "Yes, I will tell you, but you should be aware that if any of what we are about to discuss is leaked to the general public, that girl's life would be in danger." This intrigued Severus above anything else that he had heard tonight. No one had ever trusted him enough to give him information like this. Severus was a lot of things but he was no snitch, he was actually really good at keeping secrets and would take this one with him to his grave.

"I swear, sir, not a word to another soul!" Severus vowed. "You can trust me."

Dumbledore's eyes, if possible, twinkled all the more brighter under his half moon spectacles at Severus' words. "I think that I can answer the question of who she is, although that is not the important question." At these words Dumbledore's expression became grave.

"What," Asked Severus starting to get annoyed by the headmaster being completely vague, "Is the important question?"

"Not who she is, but what happened to her and more importantly how did she get here." Dumbledore stood up and started to pace the room. "Apparation is not possible inside of school grounds, so that is ruled out..." At this point Professor Dumbledore was mumbling to himself.

"Excuse me, Professor," Severus interrupted Dumbledore's musings, "But you said that you knew who she was. How? Her face was unrecognizable!"

"Ah, good point, but as long as she is of school age and has not graduated or been expelled I indeed can put a name to a bruised and beaten face." Dumbledore explained as he walked to one of his cabinets and pulled out an ancient looking long roll of parchment. He carried it over to the desk and laid it down. Severus glanced down at it and was instantly confused, it was blank. But before he had a chance to voice his confusion Dumbledore tapped the parchment with his wand and hundreds of names appeared on the list. The list was grouped by year, seventh was at the top and first at the bottom. Under each year the names were sorted by house. Severus looked under sixth year, then found Slytherin, and saw his own name.

"So do we just go through all the names and check off who is already here?" asked Severus.

"We could do that, yes, but I have an easier way," and with that Dumbledore tapped the parchment once again and a single name glowed. A closer look at the name showed then that the name had created it's own category.

Year: 6th 7th

Gryffindor: Hermione Granger

"Sir, what does that mean?" Severus asked.

"Well, I believe that Miss Granger had finished her sixth year but has yet to start her seventh year." Dumbledore said. "Which would make one wonder why she was in my office."

"How is that possible?" Severus wondered, "We're at the end of the year. Could she have come from another school?"

"No, I don't think that is the case." Dumbledore answered.

"Then what is it?" Severus asked getting more frustrated.

"I think," Dumbledore began to explain. "That young Miss Granger is from the future." Nothing but silence followed that statement. Severus wasn't sure if the headmaster was being serious or if he had completely lost his mind. He looked into his eyes and saw nothing but the truth in them; he knew that he was telling the truth.

"Ok, but why do you think that she came from the future? Could it also be possible that she is from the past?" Severus asked trying to make all of this make sense in his head.

"That is a good point, but I am afraid that it is not possible." Dumbledore explained. "There is no known way to travel to the future. A time turner only goes one way, when you turn it back you have to have to relive how ever long you turned it back to be able to get back to your point of origin. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, I think." Severus answered his brain was beginning to hurt. "Is there any way to tell how far into the future she is from?"

"Well if Madam Pomfrey succeeds in keeping her alive, which I have no doubt that she will, maybe she can tell us when she is from." The flames in the fireplace turned green and a tired Madam Pomfrey stepped out.

"Albus, I have done all that I can do for now." She said, "Her wounds are cleaned and she is stable, but she is in a magically induced coma and nothing that I have tried has woken her up. Only time will tell if she even will."

"Thank you Poppy." Said Dumbledore. "Also I would like her to be put in a private room, no one is to know she is here."

"Yes, headmaster." Madam Pomfrey said as she turned around and quickly flooed back to the infirmary.

"Now Severus we have one more matter to discuss before you head to bed." said Dumbledore. "You never received your punishment for getting into a fight." At those words Severus' heart sank, he had forgotten all about the fight until then. Bracing himself for the worst Severus waited for his punishment. "I want you to visit the bedside of Miss Granger at least three times a week until I lift it. If she wakes up I want you to get to know her, be her friend."

Severus was stunned and starting to get angry again. "You want me to baby-sit her?"

"No, I want you to get to know her, she probably has no friends or family in this time." Said Dumbledore smiling. "I also want you to report back to me."

"Wait... So I am spying on her?" Severus asked.

"No, you are going to befriend her and let me know how your detention goes." He said, as his smile grew larger and larger. "If you have any further questions, I am afraid that they will have to wait for a later time. Now, off to bed with you."

Severus stood up and walked out of the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind was full of everything that had happened that night and he was indeed tired. He headed straight towards the dungeons and the Slytherin common room. He would think more about things when he woke up and had an entire nights rest behind him.

**A/N: There you go, Chapter number two. Please be sure to review and let me know what you thought. I am interested to hear how you think that it'll turn out. I want to say thank you again to everyone who took the time to read and review this, it really made my day. Chapter three will be up soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm sorry that this took longer than usual. My baby nephew was just born and I had to study for a major test. But I've come to realize that once a week is just too much for me right now so I'm going to be posting every two weeks. I hope that all of you continue to read this, I am just excited by the response thus far. Don't forget to review when your done! I love all of them.

A very special thanks to my beta Deathtechie! She is the most amazing beta ever! I don't know what I would do without you!

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that you recognize from the world JKR made with her brilliant mind! **_

**Chapter Three:**

Two weeks had passed since Severus received his detention, and he was serving his time in the infirmary sitting by the bedside of a young woman. He was having trouble concentrating on the book he was supposed to read for his transfiguration class. So much had happened in the last two weeks it was no wonder he couldn't concentrate. For one, Black and Potter had indeed received a severe punishment; for the rest of the school year they were to be Filch's assistants. Which made it all the more great that Filch has a personal vendetta against them for being troublemakers.

Then there was Hermione Granger and he hated to admit it to himself, but she intrigued him more than anything in his life ever had. Maybe it was the mystery of who she really was, why she was here, or what had happened to her. It also could be the fact that over the last two weeks most of her minor bruises and scratches had healed revealing beautiful features. She still had many cuts that would never fully heal, so her arms and legs, and probably her whole body, would be covered in scars. Miraculously, her face had come out unscathed. She still had faint traces of bruises on her face, but most of them were a light yellow, which meant that they would be gone in the next day or two.

She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, although he would never admit that to anyone! She had long waist length, straight golden hair. It was so vibrant that it almost looked solid, except for the fact that every strand worked together to make her hair seem like water.

Severus found himself looking away from his book to stare at the young woman. When he realized that he was staring at her he would swear under his breath and turn back to his book. She was unconscious but she was beginning to infuriate him because he couldn't keep his eyes off of her and he hated it that anyone could hold that kind of power over him. Even Lily didn't have that effect on him and he is in love with her, not that he was looking to replace her. Although lately he had not been able to get Hermione off his mind, and Lily barely crossed his mind. Not to mention that she had been spending a lot of time with Potter lately. Lily hadn't talked to him for over a year when he had accidentally called her a 'mudblood'... He would never forgive himself for that. He didn't even like to use that word, he had just been embarrassed that a girl had to come to his rescue. Pride was Severus' fatal flaw.

Severus would be so happy when his detention was over with, that way he could forget all about the strange girl that brought so many unanswered questions to his mind. Of course he would need the answers to his questions before his mind would ever let him forget about her.

While musing over these things he had started staring at her again, like he had been doing so often lately. At first he didn't notice that anything was amiss, but the longer he looked at her he began to see movements. He noticed that her breathing had begun to speed up. He closed his book without marking the page out of his eagerness to sit up and lean toward her to see if she would do anything else. He didn't have to wait long before he noticed that her hands were beginning to twitch.

Without waiting for more of an indication he jumped to his feet and ran out of the hidden room into the infirmary to fetch Madam Pomfrey. As soon as she heard that she was beginning to wake up she told Severus that he was excused for the day, and promptly marched into the room that currently housed Hermione. In her rush Madam Pomfrey didn't bother to shut the door; so before Severus left he saw Hermione opened her bright green eyes and look at the ceiling. There was a moment of peace where she just sat there without any kind of expression on her face. Then she blinked and everything changed. Her face began to scrunch up in complete and total agony, and shrill screams ripped from her throat completely filling the infirmary.

If Severus hadn't been the only one in the infirmary then there would have been no way that they could have kept her a secret with screams like that. Severus didn't want to leave so he rapped himself hard over the head with his wand and cast a disillusionment charm upon himself.

At first Madam Pomfrey was shocked by the blood curdling screams being emitted from the now conscious girl, after a minute or two she regained her composure and set to work to figure out what ailed the poor girl. Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and ran it up and down her body murmuring a diagnostic spell. As her wand traveled over Hermione's body a faint red glow would appear over a few of her major scars.

"Tsk, tsk." Madam Pomfrey said to no one but herself. "I am such a fool! I should have known that they would have a lasting effect." She had a somber look about her as she set to the task of easing the pain in the girl's scars. She had never seen anything like these before. Whomever had done this to her had cursed the skin in that area to cause excruciating pain, and she wasn't sure that she would be able to make it stop completely. She had a sneaking suspicion that those scars would cause her to be in pain for the rest of her life.

Slowly the girl's screams started to calm down into quiet moans of agony. Hermione's eyes and jaw were clenched shut to try and stifle her screams. Tears ran down her face from the effort and pain that was wracking her body. Madam Pomfrey looked upon the girl with sympathy in her eyes, she hated to admit it, but she had done everything in her power to stop her pain and that still wasn't enough. Her suspicions were just confirmed; as long as this girl was alive she would forever be in pain.

"Can you open your eyes?" Madam Pomfrey asked Hermione. All Hermione did was close her eyes even tighter, but as she regained some composure she was able to open her eyes with a sob. "There you go dear, that's it," she said soothingly. "Ok, now I need to leave the room for a minute to get the Headmaster. Do you think that you can stay awake while I'm gone?" She waited for a reply and her answer was received as Hermione nodded her head. Without another word Madam Pomfrey turned and quickly left the room.

Severus stood in the corner until Madam Pomfrey was out of sight, then he slowly walked closer to the bed so that he could get a closer look at the girl. She had her eyes shut again in an attempt to maintain her grasp on reality instead of succumbing to the intensity of the pain that radiated throughout her whole body. Her golden hair was fanned out all over her pillow from when she had struggled with her agony after she awoke. Her breathing was ragged and Severus could tell that she was still in a lot of pain. In a kind of trance he reached out his disillusioned hand to touch her arm to comfort her; which is something he never would have done if he weren't so distracted. Before his hand reached her arm he heard the hurried footsteps of Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore approaching and only had enough time to back into the corner and stand still before they walked through the door.

"Dearie, are you still awake?" Madam Pomfrey asked, walking up to Hermione and laying her hand on the arm Severus would have touched had they not walked in when they did. "Could you please open your eyes to let us know?" They waited a minute or so for Hermione to attempt to reopen them. Once her green eyes were visible again she didn't look around or at anyone, all she did was find a focal point on the ceiling and just stared at it.

"Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said trying to get her attention. She didn't move or look toward him in any way to acknowledge that she had heard him. "Miss Granger?" He tried again. When she didn't react again he turned to Madam Pomfrey with a sad look on his face. "We may have a problem, Poppy."

"What's wrong? I've already told you that I have done everything that I know how to do to take the pain away!" Poppy scolded Albus, "I still think that she needs to go to St. Mungos! Look at her, she is in excruciating pain!" Her voice began to rise as she lost her temper.

"Poppy, I have told you why that is not possible right now. She would be in danger." Dumbledore said calmly trying to get the mediwitch to understand that her life depended on discretion. "Anyhow, that is not what I was talking about, but you have reminded me of a spell that I came across in my youth." He walked over to Hermione's left forearm, which had the biggest scar on it. He pointed his wand at it and muttered a spell under his breath, causing the scar to glow sky blue before it faded back into a pink color. Almost immediately Hermione's breathing slowed down a bit, he then did the same with the other major scars on her right shoulder, her left thigh, and on the back of her neck. Once the last scar was taken care of Hermione's breathing almost returned to normal.

"You fixed her?" Madam Pomfrey asked amazed. "Could you teach me that spell?"

"I am afraid that she is not fixed. This spell is only a temporary pain reliever. She will have to repeat them every two days to keep the pain at bay." Professor Dumbledore said with a sad look in his eyes. "Even the mediwitchs at St. Mungos would be at a loss of what to do, I'm afraid."

"Oh that poor girl..." Madam Pomfrey said trying to keep her tears from spilling over.

Dumbledore turned back to Hermione who was now staring into the corner of the room straight at Severus. When Severus noticed that her eyes were on him he had to glance down to make sure that he was still disillusioned. 'Can she see me?' Severus wondered to himself. 'Surely not...' But he wasn't so sure about that because she was looking directly into his eyes.

"Mr. Snape," Professor Dumbledore suddenly said causing Severus to jump. "I do believe that Miss Granger has discovered your hiding place." Madam Pomfrey turned around in a circle trying to see whom Professor Dumbledore was talking to.

"Albus, who are you talking to?" She asked looking at Dumbledore a little uneasy as if he had lost his marbles.

"Mr. Snape is disillusioned in the corner by the door." Dumbledore said with an amused smile on his face. "Severus, I assure you that you are not in trouble and you may show yourself now."

Severus waited a minute longer, then he brought his want and rapped himself on the head again taking the spell away. "How could she see me?" He whispered a little creeped out that she still had her bright green eyes trained on him.

"Well, that is certainly a question that we will be asking her in due time. He then turned his attention back to Hermione to address her again. "Ah, Miss Granger, it is good to see that you are awake and alert." Hermione didn't answer him, instead she turned to look behind her and when she found no one there she looked again to the Headmaster with a confused look plastered on her face.

"Are... You talking to me?" Hermione whispered hoarsely.

"Is your name not Hermione Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked although he already knew the answer.

"I..." She stammered thinking. "I... Am not sure... I don't know." She looked guilty.

Upon hearing this Madam Pomfrey gasped with a shocked look on her face. "Albus, do you think that she has lost all of her memory?" She asked on the verge of tears again.

"Poppy, there is no doubt in my mind that her memories are still there." He said slowly. "I believe that they are just locked away in her mind. Sometimes when one undergoes a severe trauma, their mind hides their memories in an attempt to protect their sanity." He explained. "The question is, whether or not we will be able to retrieve them."

"Sir, are you saying that she may never know who she is?" Severus asked glancing at Hermione then quickly looking away.

"I am afraid that I do not have an answer for you." Dumbledore said with a neutral look on his face. "It is only a theory; I have never actually seen anything like this happen. We must simply wait and let things unravel with time."

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Hermione asked meekly, her voice was slowly returning to normal the more she spoke. She tried to sit up but Madam Pomfrey told her that she needed to lay back and relax.

"Poppy," Dumbledore said, "Let her sit up at least until we leave. She deserves to be a part of out discussion seeing as it pertains to her." He finished giving the mediwitch a stern look that rivaled Professor McGonagall's. Madam Pomfrey gave a huff of indignation, but otherwise kept her mouth shut allowing Hermione to sit up further.

"Um, why was I in so much pain?" Hermione asked weakly having over exerted herself from sitting up.

"We were counting on you to tell us that, dear." Madam Pomfrey said as if she were talking to a five-year-old making Hermione frown.

"Perhaps if we show her a reflection of herself it may bring a few things back." Severus suggested.

"Absolutely not!" Madam Pomfrey stamped her foot as she shouted. "She is in no condition to handle that kind of stress! The girl can barely sit up on her own!"

"Do I look that awful?" Hermione asked bringing her left hand up to touch her cheek.

"No, Miss Granger." Dumbledore answered softly. "Poppy is just worried that you will get overly stressed if your memories come back. She just wants your recovery to remain stress free."

"It's OK." Hermione told Madam Pomfrey. "I..." Her voice broke. "I want to see."

"You two have five minutes to finish with her!" Madam Pomfrey spat at Dumbledore and Severus. "After that she needs her rest!" Without another word she stalked into her office slamming her door behind her.

Dumbledore turned back to Hermione. "Do not worry about her, she is just worried about you."

"Do you think that looking at her reflection will work?" Severus asked showing doubt at his own suggestion.

"Probably not." Dumbledore admitted nonchalantly. "But anything is worth a try as long as it is not too dangerous." He conjured a hand mirror in his hands and offered it to Hermione. She hesitated for a second before she reached out and took it. As she saw her first glimpse of herself, her eyes grew wide in shock and then her brows furrowed in confusion. This wasn't what she was supposed to look like! Mind you, she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to look like; she couldn't remember. She knew that her looks had drastically changed but she couldn't for the life of her remember how or why they had. All of this suddenly gave her the urge to search for a logical answer... She needed to go to the library.

"Miss Granger, do you remember anything?" Dumbledore asked tentatively, look at her with curiosity.

She took a minute to answer while she stared at her reflection before she said, "Not anything specific, just that I know that I'm not supposed to look like this."

"Well then what are you supposed to look like?" Asked Severus sounding a bit bored.

"I don't know." She said looking down at her hands and noticing all the scars on them. She lifted them up to the light to get a better look at them. "I can't remember." She said distractedly as she ran her finger down the biggest scar on her left arm.

"I know that this may be a bit frustrating, especially since we keep asking you this." Dumbledore said, "But I assure you that we are only trying to help you."

"Can you tell me how I got here?" Hermione asked lifting her head to look at the Headmaster with a thirst for knowledge in her eyes. "I assume that I was elsewhere when I was attacked or tortured since you don't seem to know... Anything about me..." She trailed off trying to find something recognizable in her mind.

"You just appeared out of nowhere." Severus told her unemotionally still retaining his bored tone that he had mastered at a young age. "Professor Dumbledore and I were sitting in his office and you just appeared out of this air and was flung across his desk."

Hermione's mouth had dropped open as she gaped at Severus. When she again regained her composure she asked, "How does one appear out of nothing?"

"Well we have a theory on that, we were hoping that you would be able to confirm it, but under the circumstances we understand." Dumbledore explained.

"What is your theory?" Hermione asked with interest.

"After going over everything that had happened and the spells that surround this castle; we came to the conclusion that you are from the future." Dumbledore paused giving Hermione time for the information to sink in.

"...How far into the future?" Hermione whispered a little scared of the answer.

"We have no way of knowing that until you get your memory back." Dumbledore stated.

"So what do I do in the mean time? Blend in?" She said sarcastically. She hadn't meant to be rude but she was beginning to get aggravated with her situation.

"Well, you may stay here over the summer, seeing as it is the end of term." Dumbledore suggested. "Then you may complete your seventh year when school begins again. Hermione nodded her consent and laid her head back on the pillows with a sigh. "Of course, around the other students you will have to go by a different name." Dumbledore stated.

Hermione took a minute to think that over before you she said. "Alright, I don't think that will be too hard for me seeing as the name 'Hermione' sounds foreign to me anyway." Hermione shrugged. "What should my new name be?"

"What ever you what it to be." Dumbledore smiled at her, Hermione just frowned. The Headmaster, seeing this, said, "Or if you would like, we could pick one for you." Hermione nodded her head vigorously with a relieved look on her face. "Alright then, how do you feel about the first name of, Haven?"

"That sounds pretty." Hermione smiled glad that she didn't have to be the one to pick her new names. "What about my last name?"

"Severus what do you think that her last name should be?" Dumbledore asked with his insufferable twinkle in his eyes.

"I don't know!" he snapped aggravated with the fact that he had to give a name to someone that was quickly giving him a headache! "How about Riley?" He said throwing out the first name that came into his mind.

"Haven Riley?" Dumbledore asked chuckling. "Do you like it, Hermione?"

"I think that it'll grow on me." She answered as she yawned, as if on cue Madam Pomfrey bustles in and begins to shoo them out of the room.

"Wait, Poppy." Dumbledore holds his hand up to stop her. He then directs his next words at Hermione. "Everyone in this room will call you Haven in front of others, but in privacy we will call you by your given name. It is pertinent that you tell no one else that you are from the future. If you need to talk to someone about any of this then seek one of us out." Dumbledore gave Hermione a reassuring smile. "I hope that you sleep well Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Sir." Hermione smiled. "Good night."

Madam Pomfrey sent Dumbledore and Severus an evil glare and they took that as their cure to quickly make their leave. They walked down the corridor silently for a few minutes each deep in their own thoughts.

"Professor, how could she see me when I was disillusioned?" Severus asked, then thought of something. "Come to think of it, you saw me as well! How can the both of you have seen me?" He demanded, his temper rising a long with his voice.

"Ahh, an excellent question with a simple answer. Well, at least to why I could see you is simple." Dumbledore said with amusement and a hint of curiosity in his voice. "I saw a shimmer in the corner of my vision, which is what alerted me to your presence. I then came to the conclusion that it must have been you because Poppy had told me that she had sent you away after Miss Riley awoke." Dumbledore smiled using her new last name just in case a student happened to be listening in. "I just used deductive reasoning.

"But how did she see me? I was being completely still." Severus explained.

"Maybe you were not being as still as you believed. She may have just seen a shimmer and was looking for the cause of it." Dumbledore suggested not quite sure himself if what he said were true.

"She saw more than just a shimmer! She was looking me dead in the eyes!" Severus' temper was getting the best of him and he almost shouted. Dumbledore didn't speak for a moment contemplating what to say next. Severus recognizing the look on the Headmaster's face asked, "You have a theory don't you?"

Dumbledore glanced at Severus with a small smile on his face before he answered. "Not so much a theory but a guess." He said slowly. "Believe me, Severus, I am just as confused as you are; although, I am curious about a few things. Did you notice her reaction to her reflection?" He asked.

"Yes, she was confused by it." Severus answered as if he were deep in thought. "It jogged her memory only enough to let her know that she doesn't normally look like that."

"Exactly, so it is safe to assume that she went through some kind of transformation during, or shortly after she was tortured." Dumbledore explained. "Which may very well be why she can see through a disillusionment spell!"

"So they put some kind of curse on her to cause her to mutate?" Severus asked.

"That is definitely one possibility. Although that could have happened on it's own." Professor Dumbledore muttered. "Again there is no way to know for sure until her memory returns."

They continued talking in silence for a few minutes both with a million questions running through their minds. "Sir, where does this all leave us now?" Severus asked not sure what else he could ask.

"I do believe that we are at a stand still." Dumbledore said with a frown. "There is nothing more we can do but be there for her should she feel the need to talk."

"Sir, you don't seriously expect me to console the girl, do you?" Severus asked incredulously, glaring at the Headmaster who had put that annoying twinkle back in his eyes.

"Severus, you forget that I haven't relieved you from your detention." Dumbledore said as a smile broke out on his face. "If you recall your detention included befriending her."

Severus was outraged! He had assumed that since it had taken her so long to wake from her coma that his detentions would cease when she had finally been roused. Now the old man expected him to spy on a fellow student for him... How very... Slytherin of him. This thought seemed to calm him down a little. "Do I still have to go see her three times a week or can it be just once a week?" Severus asked hopefully.

"Actually, given the current situation four days would be ideal." Dumbledore said in a thoughtful tone. Upon hearing this Severus' eyes narrowed and he was about to give the Headmaster a piece of his mind and would have succeeded had the Headmaster not held up his hand to silence him.

"Severus, I understand that doing this will hinder your reclusive nature. I assure you that there is a reason, and not just a punishment." Dumbledore said with a serious look.

"Then what, may I ask, is the reason?" Severus asked through clenched teeth sending a dangerous look the Headmaster's way.

"There are a few." Dumbledore said vaguely. "I will give you one for now." He gave Severus his penetration stare before he continued. "You are going to befriend her because she has no one in this time. She will be lonely, and by the looks of her she has been through enough." Suddenly he got a desperate look in his eyes. "I implore you to please make an effort in this. I have a feeling that her presence means that grim times are ahead for us."

Severus sighed, he was still extremely angry with the Headmaster. The only thing that had calmed him down was the pleading look in the Headmaster's eyes.

"Alright, I'll do my best." Severus said and then turned to his right walking away from the Headmaster and thus ending their conversation.

As he was walking toward the dungeons he began fuming at himself. No matter how mysterious this little witch was, he was beginning to hate her. Now, no matter how much he wanted her out of his life he was stuck with her. This thought made him resent the Headmaster for backing him into a corner. Be that as it may he was still a man of his word and he would make an attempt to be courteous towards her. He was counting the days until his punishment was over and he could forget all about her. In the mean time he would focus on his schoolwork. He had a horrible feeling that his punishment wouldn't end with the school year.

**A/N:** There you go! Chapter three down! Let me know what you think, good or bad. I want to know what all of you think is going to happen next. So please leave your thoughts in a review, it's always apreciated! Chapter four is in two weeks time so stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: I am so sorry for the delay. My two year old has bronchitis and has to be on a nebulizer three times a day because she is at a high risk for pneumonia. I also had a slight case of writer's block. I'm not really that thrilled with how this chapter turned out, but I hope that you like it all the same. :) Anyways, please read and review. I love you guys!_**

**_A special thank you to my Beta Deathtechie. She is amazing and I love how quickly she gets my chapters back to me. :) _**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter... just sayin'!_**

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

The next day found Professor Dumbledore sitting at his desk writing a letter. He was amused as he thought of his conversation with Severus the previous day; the young man certainly had a temper. He had a feeling that Severus would become angry with him before the day was out; they had much to discuss. He finished the last of the letter and sat back further in his chair to read it over.

_Severus,_

_I would like to continue our conversation from yesterday. Come to my office after breakfast._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Ps. I love a nice glass of pumpkin juice on a warm spring morning._

It was short, yes, but they would have the bulk of their conversation after breakfast. Not to mention what they needed to discuss should not be in a public place where they could easily be overheard, hence the reason they had not talked more yesterday.

Pleased with his letter, he folded it up and wrote Severus' name on it. Standing up, he walked to the window where he saw the sun rising above the horizon. He opened the window and waved his wand summoning a school owl before he walked back to his desk. A minute later a light brown barn owl flew through the window and landed on the Headmaster's desk. Fawkes gave a squawk of indifference at the barn owl's appearance but other than that he ignored the dull bird. Professor Dumbledore tied the letter to the owl's leg and watched it fly out the window it had just entered. When the owl was out of sight he sat back down at his desk and sighed, his thoughts going back to Severus and the events of the past two weeks.

Severus was a good kid that was for sure; he was just heading down the wrong path. Dumbledore could see the good in Severus; he was just attracted to power, which Voldemort surely had. He had actually been thinking of a way to get through to Severus, but so far he had come up with nothing. That was until Miss Granger had shown up out of the blue. She presented a possible solution to his quandary with Severus. He had a gut feeling, (and so far those seemed to be on the ticket) that she was the key to not only Severus' possible turnabout but the war's as well.

Dumbledore knew she had, somewhere in her closed-off brain, valuable information about the up coming war. Under normal circumstances he would never ask for such intelligence about the future in fear of changing things. But he had one of his famous gut feelings that all was not right with the future. He didn't know how he knew it, but he knew that to be successful in the war Severus and Hermione's fates were intertwined. Mind you, he didn't know all that it entailed for the two of them, but he was going to do everything in his power to get the two to spend time with each other and at least become friends. He just hoped that the two of them wouldn't fight it for too long, for it was definitely in Severus' nature to contest what was unfamiliar to him.

A knock at the door brought the Headmaster out of his thoughts. "Enter." He said, as Severus opened the door and sat down in the chair closest to the door again. "Ah, Severus, my boy, I see that you received my letter." Dumbledore smiled as Severus frowned at his use of the endearing term, 'My boy'. "I see that you have also deciphered my clue to my password.

"Yes, sir." Severus answered in a bored voice. "Your love of sweets is unbecoming of you," he said with a small smirk plastered on his face.

"There are a few things that we need to discuss in more detail now that you have had the opportunity to calm down." Dumbledore said with a little smile. Severus frowned, he knew that the Headmaster had something up his sleeve and it was not going to be pleasant.

"What more is there to discuss?" Severus asked his tone sounding deadly. "I have already agreed to spy on the girl for you! What more do you want from me?"

Dumbledore just smiled and said, "I didn't ask you to spy, I merely asked you to keep and eye on her for me. Before you say anything," Dumbledore put his hand up to stop Severus from speaking. "There IS a difference. You don't have to tell me everything that she tells you. All I want is to be notified as soon as her memories return."

"Then why have me spend time with her?" Severus asked his mood already taking a turn for the worse.

"Like I have said before, Severus, she has no one in this time. She needs a friend, and frankly speaking you are the only one around her age who knows she is from the future." Dumbledore explained again, his smile never leaving his face.

"So, in other words, I'm being punished for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Severus said in a precarious whisper, thinking back about when she mysteriously appeared. He knew the question was childish but his temper was once again getting the best of him.

"In a sense, yes, but Severus you shouldn't think of this as a punishment." Dumbledore said trying to get the young man to see reason. "Think of it as an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Severus spat. "An opportunity to do what, exactly? Learn how to better listen to women?" He said sarcastically with a malicious glint in his eyes.

"You have questions about Miss Granger, do you not?" Dumbledore asked calmly and when Severus nodded his head he continued. "Well, think about it, just because her memories are gone doesn't mean that she is a different person. She will have the same personality that she was born with. If you spend enough time with her some of your answers to your questions may reveal themselves to you before her memories return. She also may feel more inclined to tell you whatever it is that you want to know once they do return, if you two are friends."

Severus thought about this for a moment again wondering to himself if the Headmaster should have been in Slytherin. The Headmaster seemed to exude Slytherin-like qualities every once in a while.

"So you are saying that I should pretend to be her friend so that I can get information out of her later? Severus asked a smirk slowly starting to ease it's way onto his usually somber visage.

"Precisely." Dumbledore said with a grin. He figured that if that was what he had to say to get Severus to agree to this then by all means he was going to play along. He felt that this was his only chance at getting the boy to follow through and talk to the girl. Dumbledore was hoping that maybe eventually Severus wouldn't have to _pretend_ to be her friend. He hoped that in time they would develop a genuine friendship. "Now on to the next order of business." Dumbledore said happily, making Severus scowl. "As I am sure you have been able to tell, Miss Granger has extensive damage to her body. That being so, Madam Pomfrey would like to keep her in the hospital at least until school is out for the summer."

"My punishment won't end with the school year, will it?" Severus asked already knowing the answer.

"No, it will not cease then." Dumbledore said cautiously, trying not to completely enrage the boy. "It will however, come to an end. Just be patient."

"How long?" He whispered venomously.

"I am not quite sure." Dumbledore answered truthfully. "When I figure that out, you will be the first to know.

"Is that all, sir, or is there more?" Severus asked not looking at the Headmaster. He had to keep his hands balled up in fists to keep from completely losing his head.

"No, we still have more to discuss." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "While she is still in the infirmary you are to visit her like we discussed yesterday. But when the year-ends and the students go home things will most certainly change. As you are staying here, over the summer, I want you to continue to befriend her. Show her around, make sure she becomes familiar with the place." Severus didn't say anything he just let the Headmaster continue.

"First of all there will be some changes in your living quarters. Since only the two of you will be here, I think it fit that you both move into the Head Boy and Head Girl dormitories." Dumbledore stopped to gauge Severus' reaction.

"Why do I have to move from the dungeons?" Severus asked quietly. "I rather enjoyed the tranquility of last summer's solitude." He said stressing the word 'solitude'.

"You have to move because it is pertinent that she feel safe enough to confide in someone here." Dumbledore said his eyes turned pleading. "Severus, please don't fight this. We need you right now, it is of the utmost importance."

Severus sighed, "As you wish!" He spat out angrily. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually." Dumbledore said smiling once again. "Over the summer, Hermione and you will be allowed to go to Hogsmead every weekend if you wish to. Severus didn't mind that part too much. "I ask that you accompany her the first time she wishes to go and give her a tour of the town and show her around." Severus rolled his eyes but otherwise leapt his mouth shut because he had already seen that one coming.

"Alright, sir." Severus said. "Where will we stay once school has started next school year?"

"Excellent question." Dumbledore beamed. "You will each go back to your house dormitories. I see no need for the two of you to be all by yourselves in such big rooms. Not to mention with you two living there you will have more opportunities to get to know her."

"...Right." Severus said beginning to feel uncomfortable under the Headmaster's piercing stare.

"Now, I would like for you to start your visits with her today." Dumbledore said. "At least one day out of the weekend needs to be devoted to her. Is that understood?" His tone was one that meant there was no arguing and Severus just nodded his head in agreement. As much as he despised the Headmaster, he was equally aware of the fact that he had tremendous power. To cross him would be a big mistake.

"I believe that we have discussed everything that I had planned. If you want you may leave now and go visit with Miss Granger." Dumbledore says as he motions toward the door.

"Good bye, sir." Severus said as he stood up and walked out the door.

Professor Dumbledore watched him walk away as he mused to himself how stubborn the young man was. He had practically had to pull his hair to get him to agree with anything. "I hope that your plan works, old man." He whispered aloud to himself and then set off to do his Headmaster's duties.

* * *

Severus took his time walking to the infirmary; he was not looking forward to this, one bit! It was infuriating! He should not have to give up his Saturday for this girl. He should be in his dorm practicing his latest spell invention. As he walked he kept ranting to himself, causing everyone he passed to run to the other side of the hallway to avoid him. By the time he reached the infirmary he had calmed down significantly. He stood outside the door for a few minutes to take a deep breath and remind himself to keep his temper in check.

He slowly and quietly pushed open the door and walked in. He saw Madam Pomfrey bent over Hermione's left arm with her wand pointed at her worst scar on her forearm. They were so engrossed in the scar that they hadn't noticed Severus' arrival.

Hermione cried out painfully as Madam Pomfrey uttered a spell. Hermione closed her eyes tightly and used her right hand to grip the bed sheets for support. Her breathing started to become laborious as Madam Pomfrey continued the spell. Finally having taken all that she could handle Hermione said, "Stop... PLEASE... just stop..." Madam Pomfrey broke her concentration as she heard the desperate plea and lifted her wand ending the spell. Hermione let out a small whimper as the pain ceased.

"I'm sorry dear," Said Madam Pomfrey. "I am just trying to find out as much about your scar as I can." She ran her thumb over Hermione's scar gently causing her to scream and jerk her arm away quickly.

"What was that?" Hermione asked incredulously, cradling her arm to her chest as tears streamed down her face.

Madam Pomfrey didn't answer for a minute she just stared at her thumb dumbfounded. "I... I don't know." She whispered sounding a little frightened. "But I felt a sharp pinch when I touched your scar. What did it feel like to you?" She asked Hermione.

"It felt like someone took a knife that had been sitting over a hot flame and then stabbed me with it." Hermione sniffled trying to control her tears.

"Oh, you poor dear!" Cried Madam Pomfrey. "I am so sorry. Here," She said holding out her hand. "Give me your arm so we can try again. I know we are close to answers."

Hermione hugged her arm closer to her body backing up further on the bed to get out of the mediwitch's reach. "Not today, please." She said with fresh tears in her eyes. "It still hurts from before."

Madam Pomfrey sighed but didn't push it any further. "Alright but we try again tomorrow." She said sternly getting up off of her stool and turned to walk out of the door. She saw Severus standing in the doorway and gave him a curt nod as she walked around him and went to her office, shutting the door behind her.

Hermione hadn't seen Severus yet; she was too busy staring at the sheets on her bed, rubbing her scar, willing the pain to subside. Not realizing that she didn't know he was there, he began to slowly walk toward her bed. Hermione started in surprise, she had thought that she was alone after Madam Pomfrey had exited.

"I'm sorry." Severus said apprehensively taking a step back and holding up his hands defensively. "I wasn't trying to scare you."

"Uh, it's alright." She said as she tried to inconspicuously pull her sleeve down over her scar, hiding it from view. Severus had seen her movement in the corner of his eyes and wondered why she was hiding them from him.

"I've already seen them, you know." He told her gesturing to her left forearm.

Hermione's eyes widened at the fact that she had not been sly enough to elude his keen eyes. "...I know." Was all she said hurriedly running through her thoughts trying to think of anything to change the subject. She didn't know why she was ashamed of her scars, she just was. They made her feel dirty, and all she wanted to do with them was to scrub them until they came off, knowing full well they never would. "Um, what did you say your name was again?" She asked looking at him with curiosity as he sat down in the chair by her bed that Madam Pomfrey had just occupied. "I can't recall if anyone said it last night and there were no introductions."

"Severus." He said holding out his hand for a formal introduction. "Severus Snape. Nice to meet you." He said stiffly, wishing he were somewhere else. He was beginning to think that Potter and Black had lucked out with their detention.

"Nice to make your acquaintance." Hermione said with an insincere smile plastered on her face. She wasn't sure about his motives yet so she was having a hard time being completely nice. Not to mention she was in a lot of pain at the moment.

Severus didn't seem to notice her being withdrawn from him. He was having trouble thinking of ways to engage her in conversation, but seeing as he knew nothing about her, he was coming up short. It probably didn't help matters that she knew nothing of herself either. Despite that, Severus was on a mission and he was determined to see it through. For now he was going to play it safe and make small talk about her day. "Had Professor Dumbledore's spell worn off already?" Severus asked hoping to get her started on a conversation so that he didn't have to fish for a topic any longer.

"No, why do you ask?" She said as she once again cradled her left arm to her chest protectively.

"Well, it's obvious that you're in pain." He said smirking at her attempt at being overprotective over her scar.

"Oh... that." Hermione said as if she had just realized what he meant. "Madam Pomfrey hopes that if she pokes and prods it enough with her wand that she will get answers as to why it hurts me in the first place." She said off handedly.

"You say that as if you don't believe it yourself." Severus said.

"Ha." Hermione barked sarcastically. "I have no doubt in my mind that the pain will never fully go away." She said staring into a dark corner of the room away from Severus.

"Well, that's... unfortunate." Severus said sounding less than tactful.

"Yeah..." Hermione said absentmindedly trailing off into an uncomfortable silence. They both sat there for a few minutes each shifting with unease at the other's presence. He knew that she felt apprehensive about him and he found her annoying so far. She knew that he didn't like her and was perplexed as to why he even bothered to come see her in the first place. Then it all clicked in her head as her eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. He was being forced to spend time with her. "Do I know you?" She asked him with a slight coolness to her voice

Severus noticed the change in her tone so he decided to approach this calmly. "What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.

"Before I appeared." She said slowly as if she were talking to a two year old. "Had you and I ever met?"

Severus scowled at her tone trying to keep a lid on his ever-infamous temper. "No." He said through gritted teeth as he balled his fists in his attempt to stay calm. "The first time I ever saw you was when you appeared in the Headmaster's office."

"Oh," She said sarcastically. "Is that so."

"Yes, it is." He retorted.

"Then why are you here?" She countered.

He thought very carefully before he answered, not wanting to ruin everything. "I was merely concerned. You've not got any friends or anyone your age to talk to." He said hoping that he sounded more sincere than he felt.

"You can cut the crap!" Hermione said finally losing her temper. "I know that you're only here because you're being forced."

Severus was caught so off guard that he didn't even think about his words before they came out. "H... How did you know that?"

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Hermione said incredulously. "You don't want to be here anymore than I want you here, you can't stand me. The only logical reason for you to be here is that it's against your will." She said that last bit as if she were quoting from a textbook.

Severus was at a loss of what to say, which almost never happened. He then became angry with Hermione for letting her get under his skin like that. "Don't blame me, you insufferable know-it-all; this wasn't my idea. Take it up with Dumbledore if you have a problem with it." He whispered dangerously.

Hermione's eyes widened with his insult, it sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't figure out why.

"Look, I don't mind you being here, but if you can't be nice then you should just leave." Hermione said sternly shooting daggers at Severus.

"With pleasure." He said standing up so abruptly that he knocked his chair over. He turned around on the spot and strode from the room, his school robes billowing behind him menacingly.

Hermione was hit with a suspicion that she knew him in her future. She still couldn't recall who he was but she knew that he was a part of her life and she probably didn't like him then either. She made a mental note to herself to be cautious around him.

Hermione lifted her left sleeve once more to look at her painful scar. She began to stroke it absentmindedly wishing once again that the pain would cease. She also wondered to herself why it hurt when Madam Pomfrey touched it but it was slightly soothing when she touched it herself.

Madam Pomfrey bustled back in carrying a flask with a potion in it. She handed it to Hermione with a small smile saying, "It is a dreamless sleep potion."

"But it's only noon." Hermione said even though she felt drained already.

"Yes, but you need as much rest as you can get, especially since you had such a bad nightmare last night." Madam Pomfrey said matter-of-factly. "Are you sure that you don't remember what you dreamed?" She asked.

"No," Hermione whispered. "I remember having a dream and being terrified... But that's all. I don't remember why I was scared or what happened."

"Well, this should help you sleep either way," said Madam Pomfrey sounding a little disappointed. "So drink up." Hermione took the potion from Madam Pomfrey and downed it in one gulp. She handed the flask back to the mediwitch and settled down into bed.

"How long until it kicks in?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh you should feel the effects any second now and you will be completely out within five minutes." Madam Pomfrey smiled reassuringly.

Hermione yawned. "Thank you."

Madam Pomfrey turned back towards the door but paused and turned around facing Hermione once more. "Oh and Hermione, dear." She said sweetly. "Don't mind Mr. Snape, he just has a temper about him." She thought for a moment before saying her next words, Hermione could tell that she had been eaves dropping. "I know he is not the ideal friend, nor are you for him. Try not to be so hard on him; at least he is trying to be cordial. There may come a time that you are glad to have him as a friend."

"We're not friends." Hermione said sleepily.

"Not yet, you're right." said Madam Pomfrey knowingly. "But that's because you aren't giving him a chance." Without another word Madam Pomfrey left Hermione to her thoughts.

'Maybe she is right.' Hermione thought as her brain was quickly shutting down. She only had enough time to sigh before her eyes closed and oblivion took over.

* * *

**_A/N: There you go chapter four. Let me know what you think about it. Good, bad? Your input helps me greatly. I hope that you all enjoyed it, I will see you all again in two weeks! Don't forget to review!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I would just like to say thank you to all of you who has reviewed. I love hearing your input, it makes my day.**

**A special thank you to my beta Deathtechie, she is amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I do no own Harry Potter.**

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**Chapter Five**:

Severus awoke the next day with a headache. After his argument with Hermione the day before he had gone to the library to do some studying for his sixth year final exams. He had been studying for so long that he had lost track of the time and hadn't gotten to bed until around 3:00 in the morning. Of course he would have liked to sleep in, but his friends had other ideas. They cornered him the night before and told him that they wanted to talk to him about summer plans. After much moaning and groaning on Severus' part he finally agreed to dedicate his Sunday to his neglected friends.

Severus slowly got out of bed and started digging through his trunk at the end of his bed. After about a minute he had found his clothes for the day as well as a pepper up potion to help him not only wake up but to rid him of his headache. He downed his potion and then trudged to the bathroom and took a quick shower. When he was finished he stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly. He knew that his friends were already in the common room waiting for him to make his appearance.

Sure enough, as soon as he walked into the common room he saw his friends, Avery and Mulciber sitting on a couch in a dark corner of the room. He quickly walked over to them and sat down on the chair beside their couch.

"Took your time, didn't you!" Avery said with humor in his voice.

"Well, if you recall, I sort of had a long night." Severus countered with a smirk on his face.

"You've been having quite a few long nights lately." Mulciber accused, with no trace of humor in his voice what so ever. "What have you been up to?"

"Studying, what else?" Severus said smoothly, his smirk never leaving his face. "I take finals very seriously." Severus knew that his friends would think that something was going on sooner or later, he had just hoped that he wouldn't have to start lying until later. He would have to think of a better excuse than 'finals.'

"Yes, but grades mean nothing to the Dark Lord." Mulciber said lowering his voice. "You are a shoe-in to get in as it is, what with your knowledge of Potions." He tried to sound nonchalant but his voice betrayed his innate jealousy.

"While you are correct, you forget one thing, my narrow minded friend." Severus said his smirk growing larger.

"What might that be?" Mulciber asking in a deadly whisper, glaring at Severus.

"Until the Dark Lord takes over the ministry we are supposed to lay low." Severus said in a superior tone. "You know, blend in." Mulciber had a blank look on his face. Man, he was thick! Severus sighed in exasperation. "We must keep up appearances until the Dark Lord takes over the ministry. Which means we must find our place in the world. Find a job or start a family, if that is your cup of tea." Severus said rolling his eyes. "If you go around openly supporting the Dark Lord, you are basically offering the ministry your head on a platter. You would be off to Azkaban quicker than you can say 'Polyjuice.'" Severus smirked. "So, case in point, grades DO matter."

"He makes a good point." Avery said shrugging his shoulders. "Either way that is not what we need to discuss right now." He said his voice dropping to a whisper and his tone becoming serious.

"Alright then, spit it out already." Severus said chuckling.

"The Dark Lord is accepting volunteers for a special task over summer break." Mulciber said excitedly, obviously over his anger towards Severus.

"Why should I care?" Severus asked. "He only lets Death Eaters accept tasks. The Dark Lord doesn't accept new recruits that are still in school because he doesn't want Dumbledore to sniff us out. Which would be all to easy seeing as we are right under his nose." Severus said in a bored tone, already losing his interest. "So if you want me to come along to support someone, you should know that I'm no cheer leader.

"While that may very well be true, you should know that this is a special task and anyone who is 15 or older is allowed to volunteer." Avery said clearly showing his excitement. "You still can't get your mark until you graduate, but the point is that we can volunteer!"

"What does this task entail?" Severus asked curiously.

"No one knows." Said Mulciber.

"Then what do you know?" Severus asked once again exasperated, his smirk long gone.

"What we know is that this is our chance to impress the Dark Lord." Avery said passionately. "This is our opportunity to get in good standing with him."

Severus was about to get excited before he remembered Hermione and his heart sank. "We have a problem." Severus said in a monotone.

"What?" Both Avery and Mulciber said looking around the room cautiously making sure no one was listening in.

"I can't do it." Severus said maintaining his monotone voice.

"Of course you can!" Avery said misunderstanding Severus' meaning. "You're so brilliant at not only Potions, but the Dark Arts as well. If any of us has a shot, it's you."

"I bloody well know I'm capable of doing it, you twit." Severus said heatedly. "That's not what I meant."

"Well, out with it then." Mulciber said impatiently.

"I've got to stay in the castle again this summer." Severus said as if that explained everything. Avery and Mulciber just stared bewildered. "I'm sure Dumbledore isn't going to let me go wandering around doing the Dark Lord's bidding. More than likely whatever the Dark Lord has in mind will mean that I would be gone for days at a time. Dumbledore is bound to notice my absence."

"Why do you have to stay at the castle?" Mulciber whined. "You could have at least snuck out of an orphanage."

"True, but no orphanage would take me because of my age and how my parents died." Severus said getting a dark far away look in his eyes. "So, you two will have to go and do it without me. I have no doubt that I'll have my moment to prove my worth soon enough." He was glad that his words sounded more sure than he felt.

"We will put in a good word for you." Mulciber said proudly.

"Maybe you should just focus on yourselves and worry about me later." Severus said amused once more. "Like I said, I've no doubt that I will make a name for myself."

"Lets go down to breakfast." Avery said trying to change the subject. "Then after that we can go see if we can get the giant squid to eat one of the house elves." He laughed at that.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Mulciber said rubbing his belly. "Plus I hear that it is nice out, which is a nice change from all of the rain."

Avery and Mulciber stood up and left with Severus walking right beside them. This was nice, he could use a day with the guys especially after spending his last couple weeks in the presence of Hermione. Before bed Severus was going to seek out Professor Dumbledore and try to get out of being her babysitter. For now he was going to relax with his friends.

* * *

Hermione was feeling sluggish, seeing as she wasn't getting much sleep due to her reoccurring nightmares. The dreamless sleep potion hadn't worked and Madam Pomfrey was at a loss as to why. Being awake had left Hermione plenty of time to think about how she had treated Severus. Sure he was a git who didn't really care about her, but it wasn't as if she cared about him either. She didn't know him! She was trying not to care but what Madam Pomfrey had said the night before had really stuck with her. Was she really being that hard on him? Did she take out her frustration about her situation on him? Probably, but in her defense she had been tortured and although she didn't remember it, she still had to deal with the pain that was the aftermath.

They had discovered that if anyone, besides Hermione herself, touched her scar on her left fore arm, it would cause her excruciating pain that would last for hours on end. Sure, that didn't give her any right to treat him that way, but she was just so confused, and he was so easy to argue with. Everything around her seemed slightly familiar, yet so foreign.

She was frightened... terrified. She was scared that she would never get her memories back, which to her meant that she would never find her true place in the world. She was also terrified of her memories. She had to have gone through terrible things to get all of her scars, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to remember any of it.

She also didn't understand why Professor Dumbledore was forcing Severus to spend time with her. No matter how hard she thought on it, she just couldn't come up with a logical answer. Dumbledore seemed to be a brilliant mind, maybe it was foolish to question his motives. Try as she might she just couldn't accept that, she HAD to know why. She wasn't one to just sit and watch while things played out; she was one to act after thoughtful research. She wasn't sure how she knew that about herself, but as she thought it, she knew, without a doubt, that it was true.

All she needed to do about Severus was to make a logical list. If the pro's outweighed the con's, or vise versa, then she would have her answer.

First of all, the con's of having Severus around: He seemed like he was always in a foul mood, maybe it was hard to talk to him. Not that he wasn't trustworthy, although she wasn't sure if she trusted him or not either. He didn't seem like he wanted to be around her. Why would she want to spend time with someone who couldn't stand her?

Second, the pro's of having Severus around: She would have someone around her age, who knew that she was from the future, to talk to. Sometimes talking a problem out with another human being helps you feel better. Not to mention Dumbledore thought that it was a good idea, and something inside Hermione told her that he was doing it for a good reason.

Hermione sighed as Madam Pomfrey brought in her dinner tray. "Here you go Dear, eat up." Madam Pomfrey said joyfully. "After you are done I'll bring in a stronger dreamless sleep potion for you to take."

"Alright." Hermione said as she picked up a hot roll off of her plate and bit into it. Madam Pomfrey turned and left the room. Hermione sighed again, she would give Severus a chance, if he ever came back. Well, she wouldn't snap at him again, at least.

* * *

Severus had a wonderful time hanging out with his friends. He hadn't had to worry about his school work or more importantly Hermione. He wished that things could have stayed that way but as supper came to an end, he had business to attend to.

He had said good-bye to his friends in the Great Hall and headed towards the Headmaster's office. When he got to the Gargoyle statues he wondered briefly if Dumbledore had charged his password since the day before. He figured that it was the same password so he said, "Pumpkin Juice." and the Gargoyles leapt aside and allowed Severus to go through. He walked up the spiral staircase and knocked on the door, once he reached the top.

"Enter." Dumbledore's muffled voice sounded through the door. Severus opened the door, walked inside and nodded toward the Headmaster in a greeting. "Ah, Severus, my boy." Dumbledore said smiling pleasantly. "I was not expecting you to come here today. How is our time traveling friend doing?"

"She is precisely the reason for my visit this evening, Professor." Severus said dully.

"Oh?" Dumbledore said feigning surprise. "Well, what would be the problem?"

"She hates me." Severus said bluntly.

"Hates you?" Dumbledore asked chuckling. "Severus, she doesn't know you, how on earth can she hate you?"

"I don't know!" Severus said. "I went to see her yesterday and I tried talking to her. Next thing that I know she snaps at me and tells me to leave."

"Is that all?" Dumbledore asked humorously.

"What do you mean, 'Is that all?'" Severus asked incredulously. "She kicked me out of the room!"

"Oh, give her some time, she will come around." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly as he started over his half moon spectacles at Severus. "She has been through a great ordeal, and she is probably scared and confused."

"Can't we just forget about it all?" Severus asked childishly. "I don't want to do this anymore. She is infuriating. I tried to strike up a conversation! I tried to be as pleasant as I could! She doesn't want me there!" Severus said his voice rising with every word. "What more can I do?"

"Try again tomorrow." Dumbledore said calmly. "Give her a bit more time, she will come around." Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "If she does not take to you in a month, then we will work something out. Until then, swallow your pride and get back on the battle field."

"But sir, I -" Severus started to argue but Dumbledore put up his hand to silence him.

"Severus, that was not a request. You will go back tomorrow and try again, remember to just be yourself." Dumbledore thought about that for a second and then added. "Well, maybe a nicer version of yourself would work better in this situation."

Severus gave a huff of indignation as he stood up to leave.

"Severus?" Dumbledore said as Severus was walking toward the door.

Severus stopped and held his breath for three seconds to calm himself down before he turned around. "Yes, sir?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Would you mind giving these," He gestured to a stack of books on the corner of his desk. "To Hermione tomorrow? I was going to do it myself, but seeing as you are here now, and going to see her tomorrow, I think it best that you do it. They are her study books so she can read to prepare herself for the tests she has to take."

"She has to take a test?" Severus asked curiously.

"Yes, she will be taking a general knowledge test to make sure that she can handle the work of a seventh year."

"But that old parchment of yours already said that she had completed her sixth year but had yet to begin her seventh. One would assume that she was qualified to handle the work. Severus said.

"Yes, and under normal circumstances that would be true. You are forgetting one major detail." Dumbledore said with a sad look in his eyes. "We do not know how much of her memory is gone. Hence, the test. We give it to her to make sure that she has retained at least her former knowledge of school."

"Oh." Severus said plainly as he berated himself in his mind for forgetting about her memory. "What would happen if she were to fail the test?"

"Then she would be the oldest first year ever to walk the grounds of Hogwarts." Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "Let us hope that she passes." Severus nodded with a yawn. "Alright, it is getting late. Off to bed with you."

Severus didn't say a word, he waved his wand over the stack of books shrinking them. He picked them up and put them in the pocket of his school robes and walked out of the Headmaster's office. As he was heading for the dungeons he knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

The hospital wing was dark and empty. If one were to walk in they would notice that there weren't any patients. What they wouldn't notice was that there was a hidden room that held a mysterious girl. Only three people, not including the girl, knew about her and the room. The room was charmed to keep all sound from inside of the room from being heard by anyone besides Madam Pomfrey.

Hermione was asleep on her bed, in the hidden room. She was tossing and turning in her sleep mumbling something incoherent. She suddenly started flailing about as if she were being attacked and trying to break free. "No!" Hermione moaned out loud as she continued to thrash in her sleep. As the minutes ticked by she began to grow more and more restless as she tried to get away from an assailant that wasn't really there. "NOOOOO!" She screamed sitting up straight in bed, her eyes popping open. As she had slept she had tangled herself in the covers, so as she screamed she fought against them trying to free herself.

Madam Pomfrey rushed into the room in her night gown. She ran to Hermione and immediately raised her wand and muttered a spell that immediately unwound the covers from her body. Even though she was free of her covers the young girl continued to scream. "Hermione!" Madam Pomfrey said calmly yet forcefully trying to get through to her. "It was just a dream."

Hermione's screams started to quiet down the more and more her mind started to wake up. Hermione slowly contorted her face in to a look of confusion as her screamed finally died down into sobs. "What... happened?" She asked breaking heavily from the screaming.

"You had another nightmare, child." Madam Pomfrey said with a sad look on her face. "I gave you the strongest dreamless sleep potion that there is." Madam Pomfrey paused. "I can't think of anything else that I can do..." She trailed off into silence.

"Why don't the potions work?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Good gracious, child, I don't know." Madam Pomfrey snapped, frustrated at the fact that she couldn't do a thing to help the young woman, again. Upon seeing the look on Hermione's face at her words Madam Pomfrey softened her demeanor. "I'm sorry, dear, I'm just frustrated." Madam Pomfrey said soothingly. "Do you remember anything about your dream?"

"No, it's always the same." Hermione said bitterly. "I forget what it was about as soon as I'm fully awake. The memories are gone but they leave terror in their wake."

"Professor Dumbledore knows legillimens, I'll talk to him to see if maybe he can look into your mind and find an answer." Madam Pomfrey said tiredly.

"Will it be dangerous?" Hermione asked still shaking fromt he terror of her dreams.

"I'm not sure." Madam Pomfrey said with a far away look in her eyes. "I'll talk to him and see what he things about it."

"Ok." Hermione whispered.

"Now, you go back to sleep." Madam Pomfrey said as she abruptly left the room.

Hermione remained sitting on the bed. She was extremely tired but she wasn't going to let herself fall asleep again. Those dreams scared her so badly, even though she couldn't remember them. Instead of laying back down Hermione took her wand and rapped herself over the head disillusioning herself. She went to the door and opened it, careful not to make a sound. Once she was sure Madam Pomfrey was once again asleep, she walked out of her room and exited the infirmary. She was going to do anything to stay awake tonight and the only thing that she could think of to do at that moment was to walk around until breakfast.

* * *

The next morning Severus got out of bed and went with his friends to breakfast. "Snape, after class today we're going to go outside and play some pranks on the Hufflepuffs." Mulciber said between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs. "Want to join us?"

"As interesting as that sounds," Severus drawled sarcastically. "I was going to do some more studying for finals."

"Suit yourself." Mulciber said shrugging his shoulders and returning to his food.

When they were done eating they stood up and started walking down to the dungeons for double potions with the Gryffindors. Severus glanced behind him and saw James Potter and his idiotic friend, Black, glaring at him. Severus sneered in return and then turned his head back to watch where he was walking. It had been that way since their fight, they would all glare at each other to let them know that the hatred was still there. Yet they didn't want anymore punishments so they kept their distance from each other.

"Quiet, quiet!" Professor Slughorn said as they filed into the classroom. "Hurry and take your seats. The potion that we are going to be working on today will take the whole class period to brew, so partner up and get started." With that Professor Slughorn waved his wand and instructions appeared on the blackboard. The students scrambled to pair up and gather their ingredients.

* * *

Classes had gone by without anything major happening for Severus. Although he had wished that they would have lasted longer because he was really not looking forward to visiting Hermione. But soon enough Professor McGonagall finished her lecture and dismissed the class leaving Severus with no choice but to start heading for the infirmary.

The walk there seemed like it took a minute, which frustrated Severus further. He walked into the infirmary as he was taking a couple deep breaths to reign his temper in again. It seemed that he was doing that a lot lately. He stopped outside Hermione's door and knocked quietly in the hopes that she wouldn't hear it and he could leave.

"Come in." He heard her muffled voice through the door.

He opened the door and walked in and noticed that she looked like hell. She had dark bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. Her skin was pale and her eyes were blood-shot.

"Are you alright?" Severus asked not able to take his eyes off of her.

"I'm fine." She said a little too quickly. "I'm surprised to see you though. I didn't think that you would come back again."

"I've been studying for exams." Severus said feeding her the same lie he had been telling his friends.

"Oh... Alright." Hermione said absentmindedly. "Well if you want, you may have a seat." She gestured toward the only chair in the room which was by her bed.

"Thanks." Severus muttered and quickly walked over to the chair and sat down. They fell into another awkward silence and Severus was worried that this visit would be another repeat of last times. "Look, I'm..." He paused trying to think of the right words. "I was in a terrible mood the other day, my actions were inexcusable."

"No, I'm sorry. Hermione said looking to the floor. I took my aggravation out on you. I am just very confused and you were there so I snapped."

"Ok then, that is settled." Severus said not looking at her. This whole conversation, as short as it may be, was making him feel uncomfortable.

"Professor Dumbledore says that you are staying at the castle over summer break." Hermione said trying to start a conversation.

"Yes." Severus said.

"May I ask why?" She asked timidly stealing a glance at him.

"No, you may not." Severus said quietly trying his hardest not to sound rude. That was a story he never shared with anyone, not even his friends.

"Alright then." Hermione said with a nervous chuckle.

"The Headmaster asked me to give you these books to help you study for your entry level tests." Severus said as he pulled a clump of miniature books out of his robe pocket. Hermione looked at him like he was crazy; how was she supposed to read books that were that tiny? Severus held up his index finger as if saying, 'Wait one moment.' He laid the clump of books neatly on Hermione's bedside table and waved his wand over them. In less than ten seconds the table was covered with about twelve different books.

Hermione looked at them with awe and longing in her eyes. "Amazing!" She said. "Sometimes I forget magic exists." She said blushing. She ran her hands over the books hungrily trying to decide which one to start reading first. "Thank you for bringing these to me." Hermione whispered. "It'll give me something to do besides stare at the walls."

"Don't mention it." Severus said awkwardly.

"What is your best subject?" Hermione asked never taking her eyes off the books.

"I am best at Potions, but my favorite subject is Defense Against The Dark Arts." Severus said with a proud glint in his eyes.

"Well then, should I read about Potions or Defense Against The Dark Arts, first?" She asked as she held up two books.

"Defense for sure." Severus smirked, it was the closest that he had ever come to a smile in her presence. She noted that even that small act changed his features immensely. Maybe spending time with the dark Slytherin wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Alright, Defense it is." Hermione beamed excitedly at the prospect of distracting herself from the world she had found herself in. "You don't mind if I start reading it now do you?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, praying that he didn't mind. She was itching to absorb the knowledge within the wonderfully large books.

"Not at all." Severus said shrugging, a blank look on his face. "That will give me more time to study for my finals."

"Oh, thank Merlin." Hermione exclaimed. "I was worried that you would mind." She laughed nervously as she ran her hangs over the cover of the book that she was holding.

Severus gave her a weird look but other wise didn't say anything. He opened his book bag to get out his homework as Hermione opened her book and buried her face in between the pages. Neither of them seemed to mind the silence. They were both comfortably in their own world doing their own thing. It was a start, they were in the same room and they weren't arguing or shouting. True they weren't exactly speaking but maybe in time that would change.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading, I really hope that you like it. Please let me know what you think, good, bad, it doesn't matter I'd like to know! :) Send a review please!**


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